{"id":12345,"date":"2019-06-01T17:08:39","date_gmt":"2019-06-01T15:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iristech.co\/?p=12345"},"modified":"2020-05-28T23:31:13","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T21:31:13","slug":"11-ways-we-strain-our-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iristech.co\/11-ways-we-strain-our-eyes\/","title":{"rendered":"11 ways we Strain our Eyes with Computers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"11<\/a><\/h2>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

People spend most their waking hours staring at screens.<\/p>\n

Whether you work in an office, lay in bed browsing on your phone all day or play games on your PC all night, you probably spend about ten hours in front of a screen every day.<\/p>\n

That has a significant effect on your body and health, but most importantly your eyes.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s review some things that cause the most strain to our eyes when we spend a lot of time in front of a computer and ways we can fix our bad habits in order to be healthier, more productive and live longer.<\/p>\n

Desk position<\/h2>\n

First, it\u2019s very important to choose the proper position in your workplace.<\/p>\n

When placing your computer or laptop on your desk you must make sure the windows in the room are either on your left or your right side.<\/p>\n

As we know the main source of light in our lives is the Sun.<\/p>\n

But as great as the Sun is, it can be very dangerous.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all tried to look directly at the Sun\uff0dnotice how your eyes hurt after that?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the light coming from the Sun is very powerful and it can greatly damage our sensitive eyes, even causing blindness.<\/p>\n

Therefore an incorrect position in relation to the source of sunlight in a room can cause great strain to our eyes.<\/p>\n

If the Sun is behind us, we experience the so-called \u2018double image\u2019 \uff0d on one part the image on the screen and on another the reflection from the light behind.<\/p>\n

This way the eyes cannot maintain and constantly change focus.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, if the Sun is in front the greater light coming from it will cause strain to our vision\uff0dimagine it as you\u2019ve just woken up and opened your eyes to a really bright room.<\/p>\n

All of this is why the source of sunlight should be on either of your sides when working on a computer.<\/p>\n

This does not directly apply to artificial light since it\u2019s always on the ceiling which is in its own way on your side.<\/p>\n

\"Desk<\/a><\/h2>\n

Monitor position<\/h2>\n

After you\u2019ve placed your monitor properly in accordance to the Sun and you\u2019ve sat down, how are you supposed to position yourself against the monitor?<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re too low and you have to look up at the screen your eyes will be more open which means they are more exposed to the environment like dust and wind.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re too high your eyes are less open but that position can cause slumping and different issues with back posture and spinal form.<\/p>\n

So the best way to sit across your monitor is to have the top of it be at the same level of your eyes \uff0dthis lowers strain and fixes posture.<\/p>\n

Taking a break<\/h2>\n

Spending countless hours in front of a screen without taking a break is also the main cause in eye strain.<\/p>\n

The average person blinks at a rate of 10-15 blinks per minute, however when we focus for a long time at a screen that rate drops to 1-2 blinks per minute.<\/p>\n

Less blinking, apart from the usual eye strain, adds further tension.<\/p>\n

Blinking helps keep dust away from the eyes and also helps regulate the moisture on the retina.<\/p>\n

Less moisture equals more eye strain and can lead to headaches.<\/p>\n

One way of creating additional moisture is yawning.<\/p>\n

However, the best way to deal with the implication of spending a lot of time in front of a screen is to just take a break.<\/p>\n

Stand up, stretch your arms and legs, take a walk, look far away into the distance to focus and calm your eyes.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s best to remember the 20-20-20 rule \uff0devery 20 minutes of work take a 20-second pause in which you look at an object 20 feet away (approx. 7 meters).<\/p>\n

This way you can balance your digital life and still keep a healthy daily routine.<\/p>\n

Bad lighting<\/h2>\n

\"Bad<\/a><\/p>\n

As we know there are different types of lights. It\u2019s been 200 years since the light bulb was invented.<\/p>\n

Today apart from the regular incandescent bulb there are also LED lights, halogen and luminescent lamps, fluorescent lights, neon lights, energy-efficient bulbs and so on.<\/p>\n

It greatly depends on what kind of light you\u2019re using in the room when working on a computer.<\/p>\n

The best one for your health is the original incandescent bulb.<\/p>\n

Its emission spectrum is the same as the Sun\u2019s which means it\u2019s very close to the natural light we receive during the day.<\/p>\n

It also doesn’t flicker as LED and fluorescent lights tend to do.<\/p>\n

However in many countries today this bulb is banned.<\/p>\n

Offices and workplaces now use luminescent lights that emit a lot of blue light and are very harmful to our eyes especially after so many hours of exposure.<\/p>\n

Bright screens<\/h2>\n

Since light is an electromagnetic wave the more exposure to bright lights can cause permanent damage to the retina.<\/p>\n

There always needs to be a balance between the brightness of your screen and the light around you.<\/p>\n

If the environment is dark that opens up your pupil to let more light in and then you shine the bright phone or computer screen right in there.<\/p>\n

That can cause blurred vision, headaches and after constant exposure much more serious diseases.<\/p>\n

Step away from your screen and look at it from afar.<\/p>\n

If it looks like a light source in the room then it’s definitely too bright.<\/p>\n

Some newer devices have auto brightness features, but some don\u2019t allow low enough settings of brightness.<\/p>\n

Lower brightness can also cause shimmering and flickering on the device which causes additional eye strain.<\/p>\n

If you feel your devices brightness settings aren\u2019t meeting your needs you can use software like Iris<\/a> for additional help.<\/p>\n

Glossy screens<\/h2>\n

Take your phone and look at the screen when it\u2019s turned off.<\/p>\n

Can you see your reflection?<\/p>\n

That means your screen is glossy.<\/p>\n

Glossy screens can cause the so-called double image we talked about earlier.<\/p>\n

If you have a glossy screen you can buy a matte filter.<\/p>\n

Matte screens don\u2019t allow reflection because they scatter more light away from the eye.<\/p>\n

One pro for glossy screens is that they have better and more accurate colors, but is that really worth it that much?<\/p>\n

Blue light<\/h2>\n

\"Blue<\/a><\/p>\n

Blue light is the part of the visible spectrum of light with the shortest wavelength.<\/p>\n

Humans have evolved under blue skies so blue light controls our sleep time.<\/p>\n

Now imagine what happens when you spend all night in front of your laptop screen exposed to blue light.<\/p>\n

Simply put your daily rhythm gets all messed up.<\/p>\n

But also since blue light has the highest kinetic energy level over time it damages the eyes and can cause various diseases like cataract, macular degeneration, blurred vision and can also lead to permanent blindness.<\/p>\n

The solution is to limit exposure to blue light and try to receive more red light which is on the opposite end of the spectrum.<\/p>\n

Red light is much softer on the eyes and has a calming and soothing effect.<\/p>\n

If your phone or computer doesn\u2019t have a built-in feature you can use software like Iris<\/a> to regulate the red shift in accordance with the environment around you.<\/p>\n

Flickering<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s no secret screens emit light.<\/p>\n

Once upon a time, someone decided they want to save from their electricity bill and that\u2019s how flickering lights came to be.<\/p>\n

How does flickering work?<\/p>\n

Basically, the light turns off and then back on so quickly the brain cannot register it.<\/p>\n

However, that\u2019s extremely harmful to our eyes.<\/p>\n

Remember that really old internet saying that your pupil enlarges when you\u2019re looking at someone you love?<\/p>\n

Yeah well, that only happens if you\u2019re in a really dark room and you can\u2019t really see them.<\/p>\n

You see the pupil gets bigger in conditions of little light so it can let in the eye as much light as possible.<\/p>\n

And when there\u2019s a lot of light the pupil gets smaller so you don\u2019t go blind from too much light entering the eye.<\/p>\n

So when your screen is constantly turning off and on the pupil keeps pulsating like a muscle trying to adjust.<\/p>\n

In order to deal with this you can increase the brightness on your display but that, as we already saw, causes other problems on its own, especially in a dark room.<\/p>\n

Newer smartphones now have something called DC dimming that deals with the issues caused by flickering.<\/p>\n

But if your devices don\u2019t you can always use specialized software like Iris<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Iris adjusts the brightness of your screens, controls the flickering, and stops the emission of too much harmful blue light.<\/p>\n